Nuns on the Bus talk taxes in New Hartford; protestors focus on abortion

Samantha Madison

Tuesday

Oct 23, 2018 at 1:09 PMOct 23, 2018 at 7:27 PM

NEW HARTFORD — A group of Catholic religious sisters known as Nuns on the Bus made a stop Tuesday at U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney’s Congressional office to talk about the 2017 tax law.

Sister Betsy Van Deusen, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Albany, said in an interview before the event that she has to stand up for those less fortunate than herself because that’s what’s right.

“Poor people are suffering in this country and we can’t just stand by and not stand with them,” she said. “Most of the sisters on the bus actually work directly with people who are living in poverty, who are struggling with all these issues about getting food on the table and finding a place to live, and so they said, ‘We need to stand up.’ It’s not about one particular candidate, it’s about the issues.”

Nuns on the Bus, which began in 2012, travels around the country to promote social justice and general awareness about issues as well as help encourage people to vote. This year, the group is traveling the country ahead of the Nov. 6 election to discuss the connection between voter turnout, policy and votes cast by elected officials.

The nuns currently are on their Tax Justice Truth Tour, which is a 5,633-mile coast-to-coast tour that launched Oct. 8 in California and will end Nov. 2 at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has been the subject of many disagreements, with Republicans mainly saying that everyone received a tax cut and Democrats mostly saying that the wealthy got the tax cuts and the middle class received pennies.

The nuns believe that Trump's tax plan implemented vast tax cuts for the wealthiest in the country and consequentially cut funding for anti-poverty programs like Medicare and Medicaid. They're also concerned that vital tax credits that exist for low-income and moderate-income individuals and families, like the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, are on the chopping block.

Sister Erica Jordan, of Wisconsin, said the tour is about bringing communities together to help everyone succeed.

Keeping with the theme of the event, Sandy Caprese, a licensed practical nurse at Utica Rehab, also spoke at the rally about the impact the Trump administration’s policies have had on local people in the area.

“We need our government to invest in jobs,” Caprese said. “What better way to invest than to put our monies in job training and funding for nurses in our area? We need champions who are willing to do just that. … We need to invest in our communities, in our people, not the wealthy people that don’t live in our communities. I worry for our future.”

About 75 people attended the press conference and rally Tuesday morning, with supporters and protesters alike listening to what the speakers had to say.

Supporters came from all over the 22nd Congressional District. Anne Ferguson of Cazenovia said she drove to New Hartford because she feels strongly about the tax bill. She didn’t expect to see so many people with the same thoughts as her at the event, though.

“We need taxes that support the middle class,” Ferguson said. “The current policies of the current administration do not do that. And our current representative Tenney is not aligned with the concerns of Central New York middle-class people. … I thought there may be four or five of us and to see 75 of us that have the same concerns was very reinforcing to me.”

At least a dozen protesters mixed in with the crowd, primarily criticizing the nuns for speaking about taxes rather than abortion. Many carried anti-abortion signs or signs such as "Christians for Claudia." Tenney previously has described her views as pro-life, while her opponent, Democrat Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi, has said the government should not get in the way of a woman's right to health care.

Doug Singleton said he attended the rally and subsequent protest of the rally because he doesn’t believe the nuns are promoting the right thing. He said he believes people need to work for what they get and that, while there should be opportunities for all, they should not be funded by those who make a bigger salary.

“I’m a Catholic, I went to Catholic school and I disagree with what the nuns are trying to do,” he said. “I think they’re trying to put fear in the public and I think they’re trying to spread a socialist agenda that I don’t think this country needs right now.”

Coming from other municipalities around the area to support the nuns were Mike Potter, Bill Perrotti and Jeanne Bennett, all of whom are teachers.

All three said there’s only one way for people to have their voices heard — voting — and they can’t encourage people enough to get out and do it Nov. 6.

“This is the most important election in my lifetime,” Perrotti said. “We’ve lost our democracy; we’re giving to the rich and (taking from) the poor — it’s reverse Robin Hood — and it has to stop. People have to be represented.”

Contact reporter Samantha Madison at 315-792-5015 and follow her on Twitter (@OD_Madison).

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